A Shaw Air Force Base airman who drowned in Lake Wateree last week has been identified. The Fairfield County Coroner’s Office says 23-year-old Carlen Hailey, originally from Los Angeles and stationed at Shaw Air Force Base, was the victim.
Emergency crews were called to the Sailing Club area of Lake Wateree on June 18th after reports of a missing swimmer. According to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Hailey jumped from a pontoon boat into the water and began experiencing trouble. Others attempted to help, but he did not resurface.
SCDNR officers later recovered Hailey’s body in approximately 25 feet of water on the Fairfield County side of the lake. An autopsy completed Monday confirmed his death was the result of an accidental drowning.